Rebels seize pro-Gaddafi Tripoli district-spokesman

CAIRO Aug 23 (Reuters) - Libyan rebels seized control of
the Abu Salim neighbourhood of Tripoli late on Tuesday, a senior
rebel spokesman said, referring to one of Muammar Gaddafi's main
bastions of support in the Libyan capital.

Colonel Ahmed Bani also told al-Arabiya TV that rebels
believed the Libyan leader was probably hiding in one of many
hideouts in Tripoli.

"About an hour ago, the Abu Salim district was controlled,"
Bani said.

Libyan government officials have described residents of Abu
Salim as fervently pro-Gaddafi, though journalists who toured
the district when the city was still under Gaddafi's control
said some had been ambivalent about the man who ruled their
country for four decades.

Rebel fighters stormed Gaddafi's stronghold in Tripoli, the
Bab al-Aziziya compound, earlier on Tuesday, smashing public
symbols of Gaddafi's rule. But gunfire could still be heard in
some parts of the city late in the day.

Bani said Gaddafi could be hiding in one of many "holes" in
Tripoli. "It will take a long time to find him," he said.

Qatar-based al Jazeera TV said late on Tuesday that the
rebels were now in full control of Tripoli airport.